ES2751111T3 - Method and apparatus for secure shared personal map layer - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus comprising: means for determining a geographic location associated with at least one device operation; means for determining an indication that describes a relationship between at least the geographic location and at least one first user of the device, wherein the relationship is derived from the first user's tracked visit history to the geographic location indicating one or more of : frequency of stays; residence time; staying position; trajectory followed; or length of stay; means for determining at least one level of privacy for the indication; and means for associating at least the first user of the device to the indication and the geographical location and the at least one level of privacy.

Description

DESCRIPTION

Method and apparatus for secure shared personal map layer

Background

Service providers and device manufacturers (eg, wireless, cellular, etc.) are continually challenged to distribute value and convenience to customers, eg, by providing attractive network services. Widely popular network services include map services that provide services based on items indexed to a map, such as roads, railways, buildings, commercial establishments, easements, public services, and public facilities such as parks. Sample map services include direction and navigation services based on a user's past, current, or future position, for example, as entered on a keyboard or derived from a positioning system included in or otherwise located alongside with a user device. Another example map services include location-based storage and retrieval of information, such as geographic information systems. Some mapping services allow a user to post comments about a location, such as reviews of a concert at a particular location or food served at a particular restaurant, to be viewed on a public network or within a circle of social media contacts. The mapping services that can be provided, however, are limited by lack of information about the personal context of articles mapped with respect to a particular user. For example, while the map service knows that the address of a particular building is a school, the fact that the building is the school of a user's child is not usually known to the map server.

Document US 2008/070593 A1 refers to a location sharing network management process. The process determines the geographic location of a device and displays a map representation of the area around the device in a graphical user interface of the device. Overlays on the map the respective locations of one or more other trusted users on the network. A security component allows users to establish trustworthy relationships requiring mutual consent. Location information may be blocked between trusted users.

US 2009/047972 A1 relates to a method of providing location-based presence status and improving location privacy management in a mobile or social network environment. A user specifies their favorite locations and specifies names / categories to share for each location specified by user.

Some example embodiments

Therefore, there is a need for an approach to provide a personal map layer that indicates the personal context of one or more mapped articles for each of one or more users. Some of this personal information should be shared, such as the location of the user's office, while other information, such as the location of a school of a user's child, should not be shared, or shared only with a very close circle of trusted individuals. . Therefore, there is a need for an approach to some combination of a secure shared personal map layer.

The invention is defined by the independent claims.

According to an embodiment, a method comprises determining a geographical location. Geographical location is associated with the operation of a device. The method also comprises determining an indication, such as text, that describes a relationship between the geographic location and a first user of the device. The method further comprises determining a privacy level for the indication. The first user of the device is then associated with the indication and the geographical location and the level of privacy.

According to another embodiment, an apparatus comprises at least one processor, and at least one memory including, the at least one memory, and the computer program code configured to cause, with the at least one processor, at least in part, that the device determines a geographical location. The geographical location is indicated by the operation of a second device, which can be the same device or a different one. The apparatus is also caused to determine an indication describing a relationship between the geographic location and a first user of the second apparatus. Additionally, the device is caused to determine a privacy level for the indication. The apparatus is also caused to associate the first user of the device with the indication and the geographical location and the level of privacy, such as in a data structure.

According to another embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium carries one or more sequences of one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause, at least in part, an apparatus to perform at least the steps of previous method.

According to another embodiment, an apparatus comprises at least means for performing steps of the above method.

According to another embodiment, a computer program product that includes one or more sequences of one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause an apparatus to at least perform the steps of the preceding method.

Still other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description, simply by illustrating a number of particular embodiments and implementations, including the best mode contemplated for effecting the invention. The invention is also capable of other and different embodiments, and its various details can be modified in various obvious aspects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be considered as illustrative in nature, and not restrictive.

Brief description of the drawings

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a diagram of a system capable of providing a secure shared personal map layer, according to one embodiment;

Figure 2A is a component diagram of a personal map layer client, in accordance with one embodiment;

Figure 2B is a component diagram of a personal map layer server, according to one embodiment;

Figure 3A is a diagram of a personal description vocabulary data structure, according to one embodiment;

Figure 3B is a diagram of a personal map layer data structure, according to one embodiment;

Figure 3C is a diagram of a personal map layer request message, in accordance with one embodiment;

Figure 4 is a process flow diagram for a client of the personal map layer client process, according to one embodiment;

Figures 5A-5D are diagrams of user interfaces used in the processes of Figure 4, according to various embodiments;

Figure 6 is a process flow diagram for a personal map layer service process, in accordance with one embodiment;

Figure 7 is a time sequence diagram showing interactions between processes for a secure shared personal map layer, according to one embodiment;

Figure 8 is a hardware diagram that can be used to implement an embodiment of the invention;

Figure 9 is a diagram of a chipset that can be used to implement an embodiment of the invention; Y

Figure 10 is a diagram of a mobile terminal (eg, handset) that can be used to implement an embodiment of the invention.

Description of some embodiments

Examples of a method, apparatus and software are disclosed to provide a secure shared personal map layer. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a complete understanding of the embodiments of the invention. However, it is evident to a person skilled in the art that the embodiments of the invention can be practiced without these specific details or with an equivalent arrangement. In other cases, well known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid unnecessary hindrance to the embodiments of the invention.

Although various embodiments are described with respect to mapping applications on a mobile terminal, it is contemplated that the approach described in this document can be used with other user equipment and other applications, such as messaging applications and social networking applications.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system 100 capable of providing a secure shared personal map layer, in accordance with one embodiment. User equipment (UE) 101 is capable of accessing one or more network services, such as such as subscription service 110a and service 110n among others as indicated by an ellipsis (hereinafter referred to as non-map network services 110) and one or more network map services 120 via a communication network 105 Subscription services typically include one or more subscriber profile data structure 112 that maintains information about subscribers. For example, in a paid or free social media subscription service, the subscriber profile data structure 112 includes data indicating information about the user, such as one or more credentials to identify the user (such as a username and password) and one or more user contacts. One or more functions of the non-map services can be used through an application programming interface (API) such as API 114a and API 114n. APIs are well known and widely used in the art.

One or more map services 120 are available, such as a navigation address service, a map display service, a commercial search service, or a geographic information systems (GIS) service, alone or in some combination. Map services 120 include map items such as location data for borders such as coastlines and state or country borders, location data for easements of passage such as roads and railways and ferries, or location data for points of interest (POI) such as parks and places of business and government buildings, or some combination, in one or more data structures, such as the illustrated POI 122 data structure. One or more of the network services, such as non-map network services 110, may use map services 120 through an API 124 for one or more map related functions.

However, the map services 120 are usually not aware of one or more relationships between the map items in the one or more data structures and one or more users, such as a UE 101 user. Therefore, for example , while the map services 120 include data indicating the locations of multiple banks in a region, the map services 120 are not aware of which bank the UE 101 user's personal bank and branch is. It inhibits from operating the UE 101 to indicate such simple concepts as: receiving directions to "my bank"; or find a phone number for "my bank"; or send data indicating "my bank" to a user contact. Instead, the user is often forced to identify the bank to the map services 120 using objective identifiers, such as bank name and street and city and state and country, or some combination whenever the user wishes to indicate the bank. of the user. This is a waste of time and computation resources in UE 101 or bandwidth in communication network 105 or computation resources in a host of map services 120, or some combination. In some services, the user can tag or comment on a map article; however, the publication is public, at least to subscribers of a subscription service such as the 110a subscription service. Therefore, the user refrains from labeling a bank as the user's own bank or bank branch to avoid exposing such confidential information to a large segment of subscribers or to the general public.

To address this problem, a system 100 of Figure 1 introduces the ability to provide a secure personal map layer. The system introduces a personal map layer client 152 into Ue 101 or a service personal map layer 150 in a remote device, or both, to securely determine map items with which the user of UE 101 has a relationship personal. The relationship is stored for future secure use in one or more data structures, such as the personal map layer data structure 154. The personal map layer service 150 or client 152, or both, are further configured to allow that the user shares personal relationship information with the same or different services of one or more other users who have permission to share that personal relationship information. Additionally, by relating the social network of a user described through the ontology of people, and relating location with semantic representation, one can build highly intelligent systems with broad knowledge through reasoning.

As shown in Figure 1, system 100 comprises user equipment (UE) 101 having connectivity to non-map network services 110, map services 120, and personal map layer service (PML) 150 through a communication network 105. By way of example, the communication network 105 of system 100 includes one or more networks such as a data network (not shown), a wireless network (not shown), a telephony network (not shown ) or any combination thereof. It is contemplated that the data network may be any local area network (LAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), wide area network (WAN), a public data network (for example, the Internet), wireless network of short range, or any other suitable packet-switched network, such as a proprietary commercial packet-switched network, for example, a proprietary cable or fiber optic network or any combination thereof. In addition, the wireless network may be, for example, a cellular network and may employ various technologies including Global Evolution Enhanced Data Rates (EDGE), General Radio Packet Service (GPRS), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), etc., as well as any other suitable wireless means, for example, global microwave access interoperability (WiMAX), long-term evolution networks ( LTE), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Broadband Code Division Multiple Access (WCd Ma), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), Wireless LAN (WLAN), Bluetooth®, Internet Protocol Data Broadcast ( IP), satellite, mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) and the like or any combination thereof.

The UE 101 is any type of mobile terminal, fixed terminal or portable terminal that includes a mobile handset, station, unit, device, multimedia computer, multimedia tablet, Internet node, communicator, desktop computer, laptop computer, handheld computer, microcomputer, tablet computer, Digital Assistants Personal (PDA), audio / video player, digital camera / camcorder, positioning device, television receiver, radio broadcast receiver, e-book device, gaming device, or any combination thereof, including accessories and peripherals of these devices or any combination thereof. It is also contemplated that the UE 101 can support any type of user interface (such as "wearable" circuitry, etc.).

By way of example, the UE 101 and network services 110, 120 and 150 communicate with each other and other components of the communication network 105 using well-known, new or still under development protocols. In this context, a protocol includes a set of rules that define how network nodes interact with each other within communication network 105 based on information sent over communication links. The protocols are effective at different layers of operation within each node, from generating and receiving physical signals of various types, to selecting a link to transfer those signals, to the information format indicated by those signals, to identifying which software application to use. running on a computer system sends or receives the information. The conceptually different layers of protocols for exchanging information across a network are described in the Open Systems Interconnection Reference Model (OSI).

Communications between network nodes are typically affected by the exchange of discrete data packets. Each packet typically comprises (1) header information associated with a particular protocol, and (2) payload information that follows the header information and contains information that can be processed independently of that particular protocol. In some protocols, the packet includes (3) queue information that follows the payload and indicates the end of the payload information. The header includes information such as the source of the packet, its destination, the length of the payload, and other properties used by the protocol. Often, the data in the payload for the particular protocol includes a header and payload for a different protocol associated with a different upper layer of the OSI Reference Model. The heading for a particular protocol usually indicates a type for the next protocol contained in its payload. The upper layer protocol is said to be encapsulated in a lower layer protocol. The headers included in a packet spanning multiple heterogeneous networks, such as the internet, typically include a physical header (layer 1), a data link header (layer 2), an internetwork header (layer 3), and a header (layer) 4) transport, and various application headers (layer 5, layer 6 and layer 7) as defined by the OSI Reference Model.

Processes that run on multiple devices often communicate using the widely known and used network communication client server model. According to the client server model, a client process sends a message that includes a request for a server process, and the server process responds by providing a service. The server process can also return a message with a response to the client process. Often the client process and server process run on different computing devices, called hosts, and communicate over a network using one or more protocols for network communications. The term "server" is conventionally used to refer to the process that provides the service, or the host on which the process operates. Similarly, the term "client" is conventionally used to refer to the process making the request, or the host on which the process operates. As used in this document, the terms "client" and "server" refer to processes, rather than hosts, unless otherwise clear from the context. Furthermore, the process performed by a server can be divided to run as multiple processes on multiple hosts (sometimes called tiers) for reasons including reliability, scalability, and redundancy, among others. Similarly, a client process can be downloaded and run on small portions of a cloud of client portions distributed across network 105. A well-known client process available on most nodes connected to a communication network is a Global Computer Network client (called a "web browser", or simply "browser") that interacts through messages formatted according to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) with any of a large number of servers called Network servers World Computing (WWW) provided by web pages.

In the illustrated embodiment, the UE 101 includes a browser 107 and an application 116 and a context engine 103 in addition to the personal map layer client 152. The context engine 103 determines the local context of the UE 101 and any user thereof, such as local time, geographic position from a positioning system, ambient temperature, pressures, sound and light, and applications currently running on UE 101, content currently being displayed on UE 101, and user input via a user interface (UI), alone or in some combination. In some embodiments, application 116 is a client for at least one of network services 110 or 120. In some embodiments, application 116 is a routine distributed through browser 107.

Although data processes and structures are depicted in Figure 1 as integral blocks arranged at particular nodes connected to communication network 105 for illustration purposes, in other embodiments, one or more data processes or structures or portions thereof are arranged in a different order on the same or different nodes or data structures, including one or more databases, connected to the communication network 105. For example, in various other embodiments including cloud computing embodiments, one or more of the context engine 103, browser 107, personal map layer client 152, and application client 116 processes, or portions thereof, run in whole or in part on one or more nodes of the communication network 105 UE 101 remote.

Figure 2A is a component diagram of a personal map layer client 200 in accordance with one embodiment. The PML 200 client is a particular embodiment of the PML 152 client. By way of example, the PML 200 client includes one or more components to provide a shared and secure personal map layer. It is contemplated that the functions of these components may be combined into one or more components or performed by other components of equivalent functionality in the UE 101 or some other node connected to the network 105. In this embodiment, the PML 200 client includes a module for user interface 201, a personal layer engine 203 with a personal map layer (PML) data structure 205, a personal description vocabulary interface (PDV) module 207 with a personal description vocabulary data structure 209 (PDV), an API module 211, a map interface module 213, and a context parser module 215 with a context vocabulary data structure 217.

User interface module 201 presents data, such as prompts, to a user of the device, such as UE 101. In some embodiments, user interface module 201 is a generator of HTML statements and forms that are presented to the user at via browser 107. In some embodiments, user interface module 201 interacts with a user interface of another application in UE 101, such as an application user interface 116. In some embodiments, U i 201 module it operates on a portion of the user interface through an operating system on UE 101.

The Personal Layer Engine (PLE) 203 controls information from various sources to build, maintain and use the Personal Map Layer (PML) data structure 205 which is described in more detail below with reference to Figure 3B. The PML associates a map article, such as coordinates of a position or a multi-position path or a point of interest (POI), with a description determined by a user, for example, a user of UE 101.

In some embodiments, the PLE 203 also uses the PML 205 data structure to associate a privacy level with the determined user description. For example, PLE 203 first creates different layers that vary in user-defined description details (for example, based on the personal description vocabulary, PDV, described below) and associates a privacy level that indicates one or more kinds of obfuscation of information. The maximum privacy level describes an overall overview of personal user space such as "My home", "My office" etc. while the next layer will contain more confidential information such as "My son's school", "My Hospital", "My shopping area", "My wife's favorite restaurant", "My parents' house" etc. Since there are semantics attached to POV descriptions, PLE 203 can associate a more confidential level of privacy with certain highly personal contacts. For example, a highly confidential level of privacy is automatically associated with the contact terms of p Dv "My wife" and "My daughter" compared to other confidential privacy levels automatically associated with other contacts, such as "My colleague" . In some embodiments, the privacy level is associated with a circle of contacts on a social networking service. Different levels of privacy are useful for preserving privacy when PML information is shared between different users and different applications.

In the illustrated embodiment, the PML 205 data structure is a common data store local to the device. The data storage can synchronize itself based on user account information with a remote PML service 150 with the remote PML data structure 154. Having common storage also allows other applications to access and use the data. (with user permission).

The PDV interface module 207 uses information in the Personal Description Vocabulary (PDV) data structure 209 which is described in more detail below with reference to Figure 3A. The PDV 209 data structure contains descriptions of map items in personal and user-friendly vocabulary. For example, a hospital may have a POS entry such as "My Nearby Hospital". In some embodiments, the appropriate vocabulary terms to present in association with a map location are inferred based on a primary inference, such as the location of the user's home, after that primary reference location is determined. Once a description has been obtained from the PDV 209 data structure by the PDV 207 interface, the description is then displayed to the user through the UI 201 interface. The user can select one of the descriptions Suggested for that place such as My nearby hospital, My workplace, My home, My shopping area, My son's school etc. As an alternative, or in addition, the user can also provide their own description, such as adding "for my father-in-law" to the POS for "My nearby hospital". Using the terms provided by the POS system also helps in attaching semantic meaning to those descriptions as understood by the system. This helps correlate descriptions on personal map layers for multiple users or multiple applications, or both. The POS also includes terms for people in the user's contact lists (with fixed semantics) such as "My father", "My wife", "My daughter", "My work colleague" etc.

API module 211 processes information requests from other processes on the same UE 101 or another device in communication with communication network 105. Map interface module 213 interacts with one or more map services 120, for example, by exchanging messages with API 124 map services.

Context analyzer 215 interacts with context engine 103 to obtain context at UE 101 and expresses context using context vocabulary in context vocabulary data structure 217. In various embodiments, a context vocabulary is developed that identifies words and topics related to consumer contexts. Any method known in the art can be used to generate the context and topology vocabulary. In some embodiments, context vocabulary is defined based on output from context engine 103, which reflects any context that can be inferred from the device side, such as user location, current activity, mode of transportation (by car, in bus, driving, etc.), relationships (social contacts). For example, based on spatial inferences, such as determining user locations where concentration of user movements have been observed, the analyzer retrieves data from the map POI data structure 122. In some embodiments, call logs or services from social network are extracted for context information. For example, based on call logs, you can determine certain social relationships that exist between the user and some contacts in the user's contact list. For example, the user may be asked through user interface module 201 to enter certain people in the contact database based on terms in the POS such as "My father", etc. Similarly, based on dwell times, certain relationships that exist between the subscriber and some locations can be determined, such as a particular frequent overnight location has a certain probability of being the subscriber's home.

FIG. 2B is a component diagram of a personal map layer server 250, in accordance with one embodiment. The PML 250 server is an example embodiment of the PML 150 service. By way of example, the PML 250 server includes one or more components to provide a shared and secure personal map layer. It is contemplated that the functions of these components may be combined into one or more components or performed by other components of equivalent functionality in server host 150 or some other node connected to network 105. In this embodiment, PML server 250 includes a Authentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA) service 251, a personal layer access management module 253 that maintains a data structure 255 of combined personal map layers, and an API 257. The illustrated embodiment of the PML 250 server also includes the context vocabulary data structure 217 and PDV data structure 209 described above for the PML 200 client.

The AAA 251 service is used to identify a user to determine if that user is allowed to view another user's personal map layer. Any AAA service known in the art can be used. In an illustrated embodiment, a subscription service 110a, such as a social networking service, is used to identify a user. For example, user credentials, such as a username and password, are passed to the API 114a subscription service and a results message is received indicating whether that user authenticates, that is, whether that user is actually the indicated entity. Similarly, in some embodiments, permission levels of other users are determined from the AAA 251 service, such as the user's contacts in various circles of friends of the social network service.

The personal layer access manager 253 controls the interaction between various components of the PML 250 server. For example, the personal layer access manager 253 adds and retrieves entries for the personal map layer to the polled PML data structure 255 , identifies a user and a requester using the AAA 251 service, and provides the PML client 200 and context vocabulary data structure 217 and PDV data structure 209 to the UE 101. The functions of the personal layer access manager 253 are accessed by other applications, such as other network services 110, through API module 257.

Personal map layer data from multiple users is entered into a common data warehouse. The combined PML data structure 255 maintains entries for the PMLs of multiple users, so that the PML information can be shared across multiple applications and network services.

The API module 257 processes requests for information from other processes in the same UE 101 or another device in communication with the communication network 105, such as other user devices and other network services 110 or map service 120.

Figure 3A is a diagram of a personal description vocabulary data structure 300, according to one embodiment. While data, field, and message structures are depicted in Figure 3A, Figure 3B, and Figure 3C as integral blocks arranged in a particular order for illustration purposes, in other embodiments, one or more data or field or message structures, or portions thereof, are divided into various messages or various data structures or databases in one or more nodes connected to network 105, or some combination.

The PDV 300 data structure comprises one or more vocabulary entries such as vocabulary entry 301 and others indicated by an ellipsis. Each vocabulary entry 301 includes a semantic token field 303 and a context token field 311.

The semantic token field 303 maintains data that represents a useful standard language concept for tagging locations in map applications. As used in this document, a token is a data structure that is capable of holding the desired information, such as a vector of semantic concepts. For example, In some embodiments, the standard labels include such terms as home, work, college, bank, grocery store, restaurant, clothing store. In some embodiments, the concepts include personal relationships, such as myself, wife, friend, colleague, known relative, in-laws, mother, father, parent, son, daughter, son, etc. Such semantic tokens are well known in the art and, in some embodiments, include hierarchical relationships between concepts. For example, a relative concept is at a high level of the hierarchy and includes concepts such as parent, child, uncle, aunt, brother, nephew, etc. One or more of these in turn includes one or more other concepts at lower levels of the hierarchy. For example, the concept of son includes son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, etc. Similarly, map concepts can also be hierarchical in some embodiments. For example, the concept of bank includes the concept of bank branch. In some embodiments, each token includes synonyms for the concept (such as the terms "store" and "trade" for the same concept), including words in different languages that represent the same concept.

Context token field 311 maintains data indicating a context associated with the semantic token. Context includes location, nearby points of interest, time and duration of stay, and applications in progress in UE 101. Context token 311 is used to suggest one or more semantic token tags for a map item to a user. For example, the concept of "home" is associated with residential addresses and night times on most days of the month or year and such applications as games and videos. The concept of "work" is associated with non-residential and non-recreational locations, work hours on weekdays, and applications such as email and phone calls to work colleagues or word processors or spreadsheets. A context token is an array of values that correspond to context parameters. Accordingly, in the illustrated embodiment, context token field 311 includes a map point of interest (POI) type field 313, a time and duration field 315, and an application type execution field 317.

The POI type field 313 maintains data indicating the types of map POIs that are at or near the location that is labeled as in the semantic token field 303, such as shopping center, park, train station, etc. For semantic tokens related to personal relationships, such as myself, mother, father etc., the POI type field can be empty. The time and duration field 315 maintains data indicating which days of the year or day of the week or durations or number of occurrences are associated with the label in the semantic token field 303. The application type runtime field 317 maintains data that indicate types of applications (such as email, voice call, text, video, audio, game, social network website, news website, word processors and spreadsheets, among others) that are associated with the tag in semantic token field 303. In some embodiments, the application type runtime field 317 also includes data indicating the circle of friends in a social media service that is associated with the tag.

FIG. 3B is a diagram of a personal map layer data structure 320, according to one embodiment. The PML 320 data structure comprises one or more user inputs such as user input 321 and others indicated by ellipses. Each user entry 321 includes a user identifier (ID) field 323, and one or more personal map item fields 330 and others indicated by ellipses, collectively referred to as personal map item fields 330 hereinafter.

Each personal map item field 330 includes a map data field 331, a PDV field 333, a user text field 335, a privacy level field 337, and a user history field 339. At various times one or more of the fields in a personal map item field 330 may be empty or omitted.

Map data field 331 maintains data indicating a map feature in map service 120, such as a location, a multi-location path (for example, a route from home to work), or a POI identifier (ID ).

The PDV 333 field maintains data indicating one of the personal description vocabulary terms, such as a semantic token 303 of the PDV 300. The PDV 333 field is an exemplary means of achieving the advantage of using a standard vocabulary for tag a personal map item so that applications can retrieve map information based on standard vocabulary, such as a particular user's home, work, or school. User text field 335 maintains text provided by a user in response to a prompt, as described in more detail below. Text field 335 is an example means of achieving the advantage of customizing a label to the specific wishes of a user. Together, the data in the PDV field 333 and the user text field 335 constitute a personal map tag field 334. The personal map tag fields 334 are an exemplary means of achieving the advantage of allowing a user or user contact identify a map item by its relationship with the user or contact. Therefore, a user can refer to another user's home (for example, a contact) without knowing more about the location of the home.

Privacy level field 337 maintains data indicating a level of privacy. Any scale of privacy can be used. For example, a privacy level 1 indicates that only the user can retrieve the data associated with personal map article 330, a level 2 indicates that an immediate family member (parent, wife, child) can retrieve the information, a level 3 indicates any family member, a level 4 indicates any friend on a social networking service, a level 5 indicates any contact on a phone or email and a level 6 indicates the general public. In some embodiments, a default level is assumed, for example level 3 for any personal map item 330, unless overridden by the user identified in user ID field 323, for example, using a user interface. user described below with reference to Figure 5B. A privacy level N allows all persons associated with privacy levels 1 to N to access the associated personal map item 330. Privacy level field 337 is an exemplary means of achieving the advantage of securely sharing personal map layer information.

The user history field 339 maintains data that indicates the user context when the user was at the location indicated by the map data field 331, including the time, duration, frequency, and running applications. This information helps the system to recommend a POS tag based on the user history when the user is asked to provide information for field 333 and field 335, as described below with reference to Figure 4. Therefore, the user history field 339 and context token field 311 are exemplary means to provide the advantage of suggesting a POS label to a user when the user is asked for a personal map label 334 to associate with map data 331. In some embodiments, user history field 339 maintains data indicating one or more context tokens 311 that describe the user or UE context when it is in, or in the vicinity of, the map article indicated in field 331 .

Therefore, user input field 321 associates the first device user identified in field 323 with the text and geographic location and privacy level included in personal map item field 330. The input field of User 321 is an exemplary means of achieving the advantage of associating a personal map layer to one or more locations or POIs or paths of a map service.

FIG. 3C is a diagram of a personal map layer request message 350, in accordance with one embodiment. Message 350 includes a requestor identifier (ID) field, a user ID field 353, a PDV field 355, and a user text field 357. Depending on the type of the request, one or more of the request fields. request message 350 can be empty or skipped. Requester ID field 351 maintains data indicating an entity known to the AAA service 251, including any useful credentials to authenticate the entity, such as the username and password of a subscriber to the subscription service 110a.

User ID field 353 maintains data indicating a user whose PML 205 (or 255) data structure has to be examined. In some embodiments, fields 351 and 353 support a request for a list of all tags in the PML for the user identified in field 353. A list is provided based on the requestor's permission level and the item's privacy level. of personal map. Based on the list, one of the tagged map items can be selected and requested by their tag using fields 355 or 357 or both.

PDV field 355 and user text field 357 maintain data indicating a particular personal map tag 334 that is being requested. The map data associated with that tag is returned to the requester, if the requester has permission to view personal map items from the privacy level of the requested map item.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a process 400 for a client of the personal map layer client process, in accordance with one embodiment. In one embodiment, the personal layer engine 203 of the personal map layer client 200 performs process 400 and is implemented in, for example, a chipset that includes a processor and memory as shown in Figure 9 or in a mobile terminal as shown in Figure 10. In some embodiments, one or more stages or portions thereof are performed by other client components 200 or by nodes in communication with network 105. Although stages are depicted in Figure 4 and in Figure 6 as integral blocks in a particular order for illustration purposes, in other embodiments, one or more stages, or portions thereof, are performed in a different order, or overlapping in time, in series or in parallel, or one or more stages or portions thereof are omitted, or one or more stages are added, or the method is changed in some combination of ways.

In step 401, the user identification (ID) and user contacts are determined. Either method can be used to determine the user ID and user contacts. For example, in some embodiments, the user is prompted for this information and user responses are recorded. In some embodiments, the user ID or contacts or both are provided by a remote service, either in response to a query or without being requested. In some embodiments, the personal map layer client 152 is installed from the personal map layer service 150 in response to a request by a subscription service 110a that provides the user ID and contacts from the profile data structure of subscribers 112. In some embodiments, client 152 monitors user activity at UE 101 and detects login to a social networking service, such as subscription service 110a. In response to login detection, client 152 records the user ID for the social networking service, and any credentials used. Client 152 then requests the user contacts of the social media service through API 114, either directly, or indirectly through the personal map layer service 150. In some embodiments, the user is asked to associate contacts with a semantic witness relationship, such as mother, brother, daughter, wife, colleague, classmate, etc.

In step 403, device locations, times, dwell durations, and trajectories are determined. For example, a user types a location address or associated coordinates and time or duration. In some In embodiments, a global positioning system co-located near or within UE 101 is tracked to determine position history. Therefore, determining the indicated geographical location by operation of the device further comprises determining the time and duration of pause in a vicinity of the geographical location based on a positioning system located in conjunction with the device. In some embodiments, the context engine performs part or all of step 403. In some embodiments, the PML client 152 interrogates the context engine 103 for current position and derives dwell times and paths from the returned positions and the time current. In some embodiments, step 403 includes deducing the home context or office context for a position based on duration and dwell time timing. A dwell time is a time interval during which the UE 101 is relatively stationary, for example, it moves less than about 100 meters for more than a few minutes. An average position during the dwell time is called a dwell position. Therefore, step 403 includes determining a geographic location indicated by the operation of a device (eg, UE 101).

In step 405, a POI associated with a position is determined during a dwell time, if any, for example by sending a query with the dwell position to map service 120.

In step 407, the rest of the context for the user device is determined, for example, by requesting a context token from the context engine 103. Step 407 includes determining the applications currently running on the user device (eg example, UE 101) and contacts currently communicating with the user through the user device. In step 409, part or all of the context token is stored in the user history field 339 of the PML.

In step 411, it is determined whether the user is writing down a position. For example, it is determined whether the user has selected a position on a display provided by a map service and indicated via a user interface that a label has to be affixed, as described in more detail below with reference to Figure. 5A and Figure 5B. If so, then in step 417 the user is asked to tag the location with a POS term and subjective text, as described in more detail below. If not, then in step 413, it is determined whether enough statistics have been accumulated in the user history to deduce a location of obvious interest to the user. For example, after a month spending evenings predominantly in one place and business days predominantly in another, the two places are probably home and work and the user should be asked to label them if they have not already labeled them, so that the control go to step 415. If sufficient statistics are not available, for example, during the first two weeks of operation of the user device (for example, UE 101), when the user could be on vacation, control returns to step 403 and next steps to continue tracking device positions and associated contexts.

Figures 5A-5D are diagrams of user interfaces used in the processes of Figure 4, according to various embodiments. FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating a 501 client graphical user interface (GUI) for a mapping application, for example, application 116 in UE 101 or browser 107 that interacts with mapping service 120, according to an embodiment. GUI 501 includes one or more active areas in which a user selection is detected to determine user input, as is well known in the art. For example, user input is determined based on the positioning of a pointing device, such as a controller for a cursor and a key to indicate a selection, or a touch screen. GUI 501 includes a map portion area 520 that represents a portion of a map. The map portion includes highways 522, points of interest (POI) 534a, 524b, 524c, among others, collectively referred to as POI 524 hereinafter. A pointer 511 indicates a selected position in map portion area 520. The GUI it also includes buttons 513a and 513b (collectively referred to hereafter as buttons 513) which are active areas that perform a particular function indicated by a button label upon selection by a user. For example, in response to a one-touch detection on button 513a, the map portion in the map area is enlarged to expand distances. Similarly, in response to a one-touch detection on button 513b, the map portion in the map area is reduced to reduce distances.

At step 415, a POV and privacy level are suggested for one or more positions of obvious interest deduced from the user history. For example, based on a month of position tracking and other contextual information, it follows that location A is a user's home or bedroom, position B is a workplace or library, and position C is a child's school or brother of the user, and positions D, E and F are shopping malls for the user. A level of privacy is based on default rules, such as a level of 5 for the user's home and work, 4 for shopping centers and 3 for school. Therefore, step 415 includes determining a personal description vocabulary term (PDV) based, at least in part, on the geographic location and context for the device. As an alternative or in addition, step 415 includes determining a personal description vocabulary word based, at least in part, on a type of a point of interest associated with geographic location in a map database.

In step 417, the user is asked to label the one or more selected positions. The one or more positions are selected by the user in step 411, for example, by touching map portion area 520 at pointer position 511, or by the system based on user history statistics in step 413. By example, a user interface is presented that represents a map section with one or more selected positions Featured. The user is presented with a drop-down menu of the POS terms, either the entire list or a portion deemed relevant based on the suggestions determined in step 415. Therefore, step 417 includes determining to present the description vocabulary term. personal. In step 419, the user is asked for a level of privacy, for example by confirming or overriding the automatically suggested privacy level by default. For example, the user is presented with the GUI in Figure 5B.

Figure 5B is a diagram illustrating a 502 client graphical user interface (GUI) for tagging a selected position, according to one embodiment. GUI 502 includes map portion area 520 and button 513 as described above. The selected position is indicated in map portion area 520 by pointer 511. As indicated above, the selected position is selected directly by the user in step 411 or suggested by the PML client 152 based on user history in step 415. The user is asked to label the selected position by displaying the window 530 that includes text asking the user to label the position for the personal map layer. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the text in window 530 recites the words "location tag as special to you." Window 530 is presented in any manner known in the art. For example, window 530 is presented by user interface module 201 through application 116, browser 107, or directly using the UE operating system, or some combination.

Window 530 includes a PDV drop down menu 531, a personal text box 533 and a privacy level drop down menu. Drop-down menus are active areas that are well known in the art of graphical user interfaces. The POV drop-down menu will include at least the suggested POV terms determined in step 415, or a more complete set if you skip step 415. For example, selecting the downward pointing triangle presents a list of POV terms to the user, such as any or all of: My home, family home, friend's home, my job, family job, friend job, my hospital, family hospital, friend hospital, my school, family school, Friend school, my shopping center, family shopping center, friend shopping center, my bank, family bank, friend bank, among others. These terms can be ordered between probability levels determined by the context engine. In some embodiments, after making a selection from the POS drop-down menu, a second menu is presented, for example, to identify the friend or family member. Depending on user history and contact lists determined in step 401, for example, contact abc123 = mother or alice246 = child, POS secondary terms may be more specific, for example, mother house, brother house, parents-in-law, etc., son's hospital, son's school, in response to selecting a family home. Therefore, active area 531 is an exemplary means of achieving the advantage of providing custom standard recognized semantic concept to a map location.

The user is asked to add subjective text in the personal text box 533. For example, a location labeled "mother's house" using the POS terms may be further characterized by user text as "city condo" or some other description specific and subjective. Therefore, active area 533 is an exemplary means of achieving the advantage of providing a custom subjective label to a map location. Therefore, step 417 includes determining text that describes a relationship between the geographic location and a first user of the device. The text is some combination of the POS and the subjective text. Step 417 includes determining the text by determining to present a notice requesting the text from the first user (UE user 101).

In step 419, the user is asked to indicate the privacy level using the privacy level drop-down menu 535. For example, the privacy level is displayed as the default, for example Family (level 3) but the drop-down menu makes the other options available: Just for you (level 1), Close family (level 2), Friends (level 4), Contacts (level 5), or Public (level 6). Therefore, active area 535 is an exemplary means of achieving the advantage of providing a secure method of sharing personal map information. Step 419, therefore, includes determining a privacy level for the text. In some embodiments, the level of privacy presented in the notice is based on location and context, for example, school or shopping center at certain times of the day. Therefore, determining the privacy level further comprises determining the suggested privacy level based on geographic location and context for the device. In the illustrated embodiment, determining the privacy level further comprises determining displaying the privacy level suggested in the notice, eg, in active area 535.

In step 421, the user input is updated in the personal map layer data structure 205 based on the user responses to the prompts. For example, user input field 321 for user is updated with a new personal map item field 330; or an existing 330 personal map item field is updated. In some embodiments, step 421 includes sending the update, alone or in combination with one or more other updates, to the PML server 250 to add to the combined PML data structure 255. Therefore, step 421 includes associating the first device user to text and geographic location and level of privacy. Additionally, in the illustrated embodiment, associating the first user of the device with the text and geographic location and level of privacy is based at least in part on a response received in response to presenting the notice. Since field 330 includes the POS term in field 333, at least in some embodiments, associating the first user with the text and geographic location and privacy level based on the response further comprises associating the first user and the text and the geographical location and level of privacy at the end of personal description vocabulary (POS). Step 421 includes determining storing the association of the first user with the text and geographic location and privacy level in a common data structure (either PML 205 or combined PML 255) for access by a plurality of user devices.

For example, to update the PML, the user is presented with the GUI represented in Figure 5C. Figure 5C is a diagram illustrating a 503 client graphical user interface (GUI) for tagging a selected position, according to one embodiment. GUI 503 includes map portion area 520 and buttons 513 as described above. The selected position is indicated in map portion area 520 by pointer 511. As indicated above, the selected position is selected directly by the user in step 411 or suggested by the PML client 152 based on user history in step 415. The user is asked to accept, edit, or cancel the label privacy level for the selected position by presenting the location summary window 540. The window 540 is presented through the client user interface module 201, as described above. Window 540 includes text that presents the current labels and privacy level for the selected position. Window 540 also includes three active areas for accepting, editing, or canceling the label and level for the selected position, for example, as buttons 541a, 541b, and 541c, respectively. Upon activation of the cancel button 541c, window 540 is closed and the position label is not updated. Upon activation of the edit button 541b, window 540 is closed and window 530 is opened again to allow the label and level to be changed. Upon activation of the accept button 541a, window 540 is closed and the user input is updated in the PML data structure, such as data structures 205 or 255 or both.

The previous stages refer to the formation of the PML. The following steps relate to the use of the PML in one or more applications, including one or more non-map applications.

In step 423, a request for a user input field is received from the user's PML. For example, a request is received from a messaging application 116 in UE 101, or from an application is a different user device, for one or more personal map items in the PML 205 data structure. receives a request message 350 from a messaging application 116 on the UE 101, or from an application on a different user device, or from a network service 110 or map service 120, for one or more personal map items of the PML 205 data structure. Request message 350 identifies the requester in the requester ID field 351, such as a source field in an Internet Protocol header. The request message 350 identifies the user in the user ID field 353. Therefore, the request indicates the first user of the UE 101. If the PDV field 355 and user text field 357 are blank, the request 350 is for a list of tags for personal map items the applicant is allowed to see. Based on the selection of one or more items from that list, a subsequent request message 350 indicates the PDV and user text of the tag in fields 355 and 357, respectively. Therefore, in some embodiments, the request indicates the text; and in some embodiments, the request indicates a personal description vocabulary term associated with the text. Therefore, step 423 includes receiving a request for an association between the text and the geographic location for the first user.

If such a request message is received, then in step 425 the requesting entity is authenticated. For example, credentials for the requestor are sent to the AAA 251 service, for example, by sending a message to the PML 250 server or through the PML 257 server API. In step 427, it is determined whether the requestor is allowed access the user's requested personal map items in fields 330. For example, it is determined whether the requestor is a tagged contact such as the user, close family, family, friend, other contact, or untagged (thus, a member of the general public) and the level of privacy of the requested article. Therefore, it is determined whether the applicant is allowed to view the personal map item. Step 427 effectively determines whether a second user associated with the request has permission for the privacy level associated with the text. If so, then in step 431, the requested personal map items or items are returned to the requestor, for example, application 116. Therefore, step 429 includes determining to send the association between the text and the geographic location. , if the second user does have permission for the privacy level. If not, then in step 429 the user is asked to add the requester to a different category of contact, or change the privacy level of the item, or otherwise allow the requester to receive the requested personal map item. If nothing is changed, the applicant is denied the personal map item. Therefore, step 429 includes determining not to send the association between the text and the geographic location, if the second user does not have permission for the privacy level. If a change is made to allow the requester, then the requested personal map item or items are returned to the requester. In some embodiments, when searching for another user's personal layer, the UI also provides a means to inquire about a specific personal layer item and at a requested privacy level. For example, user A could only search for "child B's daughter's nursery" even though user A may be a friend, which by default may be type C permission. User B, after viewing the request, can grant permission for the same.

Figure 5D is a diagram illustrating an application GUI 504 for retrieving a position by semantic or subjective tag, according to one embodiment. For example, application 116 is assumed to be a messaging application, such as an email (email) application. The application user is asked to form a message in Request GUI 550. Request GUI 550 includes an active insert area, such as insert button 551. In response, an insert 560 drop-down menu is presented to the user from the application to select the object to be inserted in the message. Many well-known objects such as text, snapshots, videos, files, and contacts can be inserted into a message - as indicated by an ellipsis and active file area 561a and active contact area 561b.

In accordance with some embodiments, personal map items may also be inserted into a message, as indicated by hot area 561c of "My map item" and hot area 561d of "contact map item". When active area 561c is selected the application user 116 tries to insert a personal map item from the user's own PML. When active area 561d is detected, application user 116 attempts to insert a personal map item from a different user's PML, for example, from combined pMl 255 from a PML 250 server or from a PML 205 of a different user from UE 101. In some embodiments hot spots 561c and 561d are presented at user interface 201 in response to a request sent to API client 211 by application 116. Therefore, hot spots 561c and 561d are presented through the client user interface module 201, as described above.

For illustration purposes it is assumed that active area 561d is detected. In response, window 570 opens. Window 570 is presented through client user interface module 201, as described above. In some embodiments, window 570 is presented at user interface 201 in response to a request sent to API client 211 by application 116. Window 570 includes a contact dropdown menu 571, a permission dropdown menu 572, and a dropdown menu 573 of personal map items list. The 571 contact drop-down menu is operated to select a contact whose personal map item has to be inserted.

Once such a contact is inserted, the 572 permission drop-down menu is operated to change a permission level for the contact in case the contact ever requests the requestor's PML. The default or previously assigned permission level (for example, friend, level 4) is presented in active area 572. The drop-down menu is operated to change the permission level, for example, Just for you (level 1), Close family (level 2), Family (level 3), Contacts (level 5) or Public (level 6). In other embodiments, the drop-down menu 572 is presented in other applications, such as a social media user interface when adding or editing a contact. It is convenient to render active area 572 in window 570 to reduce the number of different user interfaces to describe. Similarly, in some embodiments, certain permission levels are provided for individual items in personal layer while keeping all other items as default.

Once such a contact is inserted and the requestor's permission to access that contact's items is determined, the drop-down menu list 573 is populated with the allowed item labels. One of the labels can then be selected to insert an object that represents that position in the message. For example, if the Alice Child College article is detected, an object labeled "Alice Child College" is inserted into the message. The object includes the map data associated with Alice's son's school in the PML, such as the position or POI or trajectory. "Alice246" is assumed to be associated with the child using the contact alerts described above. Because a person can have multiple children, the "child" POS relationship is modified by the contact information associated with that category. As an alternative, the modifier "Alice" can be inserted as subjective text associated with the POS term "child". Therefore, one can distinguish son Alice from son Betty.

In step 433, it is determined whether the final conditions are met. If yes, process 400 ends. Otherwise, control returns to step 403 et seq. To continue tracking device and context locations to learn other important locations.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a process 600 for a personal map layer service process, in accordance with one embodiment. In one embodiment, the personal layer access manager 253 of the personal map layer server 250 performs process 600 and is implemented in, for example, a chipset that includes a processor and memory as shown in Figure 9 or in a general purpose computer as represented in the Figure. 8. In some embodiments, one or more stages or portions thereof are performed by other server components 250 or other nodes in communication with network 105.

In step 601, the Personal Description Vocabulary (PDV) for map items is determined and stored, for example, in the PDV data structure 209. Any method can be used to determine the PDV. For example, POS is based on POI types, if any, such as college, hospital, etc. and the context, such as time and duration of permanence and applications running, for test subjects while at their corresponding points of interest or non-POI addresses. In some embodiments, values for one or more entries or fields thereof are determined based on manual entry by one or more experts. Therefore, vocabulary entries 301 are added to a data structure 300.

At step 603, a context vocabulary is determined and stored, for example, in context vocabulary data structure 217. In various embodiments, a context vocabulary and topology is developed that identifies words and topics related to consumer contexts. . Any method known in the art can be used to generate the context and topology vocabulary. For example, several documents are collected that analyze and describe consumer context, such as documents that describe the importance of whether the consumer is working to pay or perform other tasks or is idle, if the current time is a weekday or weekend night. week, if the current season is summer or winter, if the consumer is at home or away, or if the consumer is at a destination or en route, if a document is using a place name or a person name, if the consumer It is stationary or on the move and at what speeds and directions, whether it is day or night, and what applications are available on user-owned consumer equipment. These documents are extracted to determine consumer context related words, context related word collections, or relative use of those words, or some combination. In some embodiments, the vocabulary topology includes topics imposed on or deduced from relative occurrences of words within documents. For example, in various embodiments, probabilistic latent semantic indexing (pLSI) or latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), well known in the art, is used to deduce topics from words in a set of documents. Such methods can be used to derive context words and context topics from a set of documents that address the circumstances of network service consumers. Because each topic is associated with a group of words in certain relative abundances, there is a topology that relates topics to words and subtopics to higher level topics. In some embodiments, a context vocabulary is built manually or by relying on or extending some standard topology such as Open Directory Project (ODP) vocabulary. In these embodiments, LDA is not used in the construction of the context vocabulary itself; Instead, once a vocabulary is established, documents can be extracted using LDA to see what themes / context is contained within the document. Context vocabulary topology is used in various embodiments described in this document to determine context for UE 101 and for map articles.

In some embodiments, there are only two levels of categories, eg themes and words, below the root level context vocabulary. Each topic is defined by a set of words, each with a particular interval of occurrence percentages. In some of these embodiments, a V word vocabulary is represented by a V dimensional vector; and each word is represented by a V dimensional vector with zeros in all positions except the position corresponding to that particular word. Low meaning words such as articles, prepositions, pronouns and commonly used words are usually ignored. Each of T subjects is represented by a vector of V dimensions with relative occurrences of each word in the subject represented by a percentage in the corresponding word positions. All topics are represented by a V x T matrix.

When a context vocabulary word is found in a document (for example, a message from a user or a product description, for example, in field 207), that word is considered a mix of the different topics that include that word , with a percentage probability assigned to each topic based on the percentage of words in the document, for example using the well-known LDA methods. As a result, the entire document can be represented by a set of themes found in the document with a probability metric assigned to each theme, for example, a T-dimensional vector with varying probabilities at each position in the vector. Such a vector is an example of a context token in this document. Two documents (such as a description of a product and a description of the current status of a UE 101) can be compared by calculating a similarity of the two T-dimensional vectors (tokens) that those documents represent, such as a sum of products of corresponding terms . As an alternative, or in addition, a distance metric can be calculated between the two documents, which increases as the two cores become less similar. Any distance metric can be used, such as a zero-order distance (absolute value of the coordinate with the largest difference), an order-1 distance (a sum of the absolute values of the T differences), an order-two distance ( a sum of the squares of the T differences - equivalent to the Euclidean distance), a distance of order three (a sum of cubes of absolute values), etc. The most similar are witnesses to two documents, or the shorter the distance between those witnesses, the more relevant the documents are to each other. In the following description, it is assumed that a context vocabulary has been defined and stored in a data structure context vocabulary. The context of a document or resource is represented by a context token. The more similar the context tokens of two documents are, for example, the smaller the measure of distance between them, the more relevant a document will be to the consumer context indicated by the other document.

Context vocabulary and tokens are derived not only from extraction from a user text base, but more often directly from context data on the device. Therefore, in some embodiments, context vocabulary is defined based on output from context engine 103, which reflects all of the context that can be inferred from the device side, for example, as user location, current activity, mode transportation (car, bus, driving, etc.), relationships (social contacts), and application execution (eg, messaging, audio, video, games, word processor, spreadsheet, etc.).

In step 611 a user is registered for the personal map layer service. For example, a subscriber to a subscription service 110a, such as a social networking service, selects an icon to add a personal map layer application to the user's device. User information is sent by subscription service 110a to PML server 250 through API server 257. In another embodiment, a user operates a browser 107 to contact PML server 150. During step 611, one or more web pages to register a user to the UE 101 user through browser 107. The user registers, or not, based on those responses.

In step 613, in response to a successful registration, client process 152, including copies of PDV data structure 209 and context vocabulary data structure 217 are made available to client 152, for example, sent to e install on the user device, for example, UE 101 as modules 201,203, 207, 211, 213 and 215 and as the PDV data structure 209 and context vocabulary data structure 217. Therefore, step 613 to provide the client process 152 in the UE 101 is a means of doing any or all the customer steps 200 described above. Therefore, step 613 includes determining a geographic location indicated by the operation of a device (UE 101), and determining text describing a relationship between the geographical location and a first user of the device (UE 101), and determining a level privacy for the text.

At step 615, user contacts and permission levels are determined. For example, user contacts are sent by subscription service 110a to PML 250 server through API 257 server. Based on circles of friends in a social network service or responses to active area 572 in window 570 sent by the PML client, the permission level of each contact is determined. In some embodiments, a person not listed among the user's contacts is considered a member of the public and is allowed to view only map items with the public privacy level, for example, level 6.

In step 617, it is determined whether a user input update is received, for example, whether a message with one or more data structure fields 321 is received. For example, such a message is sent by the client of PML 152 at step 421, described above. If so, then in step 619 the updated entry is stored in combined personal map layer data structure 255. The updated information either substitutes data in one or more fields of an already associated personal map article field 330 to the user sending the message as indicated in field 323, or added as a new personal map item field 330. Thus, step 617 includes associating the first user of the device (UE 101) with the text and the geographic location and privacy level in the combined PML data structure 255. Step 619 includes determining storing the association of the first user with the text and the geographic location and privacy level a common data structure for access by a plurality of user devices.

Steps 611 to 619 above relate to forming the combined PML data structure 255 for multiple users. The following steps relate to the use of the PML in one or more applications, including one or more non-map applications.

In step 621, a request for a user input is received from the combined PML data structure 255. For example, the request message 350, described above, is received. Therefore, step 621 includes receiving a request for an association between the text and the geographic location for the first user.

If such a request is received, then in step 623 the requesting entity is authenticated. For example, credentials for the requester are sent to the AAA service 251. In step 625, it is determined whether the requester is allowed to access the requested personal map items in user fields 330 indicated in field 323. For example, It determines whether the requester is a tagged contact such as the user, close family, family, friend, other or untagged contact (hence a member of the general public), and the privacy level of the requested item. Therefore, it is determined whether the applicant is allowed to view the personal map item; for example, it is determined if a second user associated with the request has permission for the privacy level associated with the text. If so, then in step 627, the requested personal map items or items are returned to the requestor, for example, to application 116. For example, a list of labels to be displayed is returned, for example in area 573 , if field 355 or field 357 is blank in the request. Alternatively, for example, the map data in field 331 associated with the label specified in the request is returned if field 355 and field 357 maintain information indicating the personal label. Therefore, step 627 includes determining to send the association between the text and the geographic location, if the second user does have permission for the privacy level.

If the requester is not allowed to access the requested personal map item, then in step 629 the user is asked to add the requester to a different contact category (for example, in active area 572), or change the level item privacy (for example, in active area 535), or otherwise allow the requester to receive the requested personal map item. If nothing is changed, the applicant is denied the personal map item. Therefore, step 629 includes determining not to send the association between the text and the geographic location, if the second user does not have permission for the privacy level. If a change is made to allow the requester, then the requested personal map item or items are returned to the requester.

In step 631, it is determined whether another user has to register. If so, control returns to step 611 et seq. To register that user. In step 633, it is determined whether the final conditions for terminating the PML service are met, for example, for maintenance or change of equipment. If so, the process ends. Otherwise, control returns to step 617 et seq. To process any updates or requests for personal map layer information, as described above.

Figure 7 is a time sequence diagram 700 showing inter-process interactions for a secure shared personal map layer, according to one embodiment. Time increases downward on this diagram. Each of several processes is represented by a vertical bar labeled by a box at the top of the bar. A message sent from one process to another is represented as a horizontal arrow from the sending process to the receiving process. A stage performed within a process is indicated by an arrow beginning and ending on the same bar in a vertical position indicating its time sequence. The processes involved in sequence 700 include process 701 represent some combination of a browser 107 or application 116 in UE 101, or a non-map network service 110. The other processes include the PML client 152 (such as the client 200), the PML service 150 (such as server 250), an AAA service (such as a social network or other subscription service 110a), and the map service 120.

One or more 711 registration user messages are sent from process 701 to the PML service, for example, in step 611. In some embodiments, the registration user messages are sent from the AAA service or a network service social 110a. In response, one or more messages 713 are sent to the UE 101 to install the PML client 152, for example, in step 613 described above.

In process 721, the PML client 152 tracks the position and context, including dwell times, of UE 101, for example, in steps 403 to 409 described above. Map data such as POI IDs and trajectories along roads are determined in one or more messages 723 exchanged to the map service 120. In process 725, the user is asked to label a map location, POI or trajectory , to a personal tag, for example, in steps 411 to 419 described above, and update the user's p Ml data structure, for example, in step 421. The update is sent in one or more 727 messages to the service of PML 150 to update the combined PML, for example, the combined PML 255 data structure. This process is described on the client side in step 421 and on the server side in steps 617 and 619.

Subsequently, in some embodiments, one or more 731 request messages are sent from the browser 107 or UE 116 application on the UE 101, or from the network service 110 or 120 to the PML client 152. In process 733, the Requestor authenticates, for example, by exchanging one or more 735 authentication messages to AAA service 110a, and a successful or unsuccessful message is sent in one or more return result messages 737. Process 733 is performed, for example, in steps 425 to 431 described above.

Similarly, in some embodiments, one or more 741 request messages are sent from the browser 107 or UE 116 application on the UE 101, or from the network service 110 or 120, to the PML server 150. In the process 743, the requestor authenticates, for example, by exchanging one or more authentication messages 745 to the AAA service 110a; and a successful or unsuccessful result is sent in one or more return result messages 747. Process 743 is performed, for example, in steps 621 to 629 described above.

The processes described in this document to provide a secure shared personal map layer can be advantageously implemented through software, hardware, firmware or a combination of software and / or firmware and / or hardware. For example, the processes described in this document can be advantageously implemented through a processor or processors, a Digital Signal Processing chip (DSP), a Specific Application Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field of Programmable Door Matrices (FPGA), etc. . An illustrative hardware of this type is detailed below to perform the described functions.

Figure 8 illustrates a computer system 800 in which an embodiment of the invention can be implemented. Although computer system 800 is depicted with respect to a particular device or equipment, it is contemplated that other devices or equipment (eg, network elements, servers, etc.) within Figure 8 may display the illustrated hardware and system components. 800. Computer system 800 is programmed (eg, through computer program code or instructions) to provide a secure shared personal map layer as described herein and includes a communication mechanism such as an 810 bus to pass Information among other internal and external components of the computer system 800. Information (also called data) is represented as a physical expression of a measurable phenomenon, usually electrical stresses, but including, in other embodiments, such phenomena as magnetic, electromagnetic, pressure interactions. , chemical, biological, molecular, atomic, subatomic and quantum. For example, north and south magnetic fields, or an electrical voltage of zero and nonzero, represent two states (0, 1) of a binary digit (bit). Other phenomena may represent digits of a larger base. An overlap of multiple and simultaneous quantum states before measurement represents a quantum bit (cubit). A sequence of one or more digits constitutes digital data that is used to represent a number or code for a character. In some embodiments, information called along data is represented by a close continuity of measurable values within a particular range. Computer system 800, or a portion thereof, constitutes a means for performing one or more steps of providing a secure shared personal map layer.

A bus 810 includes one or more parallel information conductors so that information is rapidly transferred between devices coupled to bus 810. One or more processors 802 to process information are coupled to bus 810.

An 802 processor (or multiple processors) performs a set of operations on information as specified by computer program code related to the provision of a secure shared personal map layer. Computer program code is a set of instructions or statements that provide instructions for the operation of the processor and / or the computer system to perform specified functions. The code, for example, can be written in a computer programming language that is compiled into a set of instructions native to the processor. The code can also be written directly using the native instruction set (for example, machine language). The set of operations includes fetching information from the bus 810 and placing information on the bus 810. The set of operations also typically includes comparing two or more units of information, shifting positions of units of information, and combining two or more units of information, such as by addition or multiplication or logical operations such as exclusive OR, OR (XOR) and AND. Each operation in the set of operations that can be performed by the processor is represented to the processor by information called instructions, such as an operation code of one or more digits. A sequence of operations to be executed by the processor 802, such as a sequence of operation codes, constitutes processor instructions, also called computer system instructions, or simply computer instructions. Processors can be implemented as mechanical, electrical, magnetic, optical, chemical or quantum components, among others, alone or in combination.

Computer system 800 also includes memory 804 coupled to bus 810. Memory 804, such as a random access memory (RAM) or other dynamic storage device, stores information that includes processor instructions to provide a shared personal map layer. safe. Dynamic memory allows information stored in it to be changed by computer system 800. RAM allows a unit of information stored in a location called a memory address to be stored and retrieved independently of information in neighboring addresses. Memory 804 is also used by processor 802 to store temporary values during execution of processor instructions. The computer system 800 also includes an 806 read-only memory (ROM) or other static storage device attached to the 810 bus to store static information, including instructions, that is not changed by the computer system 800. Some memory is made up of volatile storage. that loses the information stored in it when power is lost. Also attached to the 810 bus is an 808 non-volatile (persistent) storage device, such as a magnetic disk, optical disk, or flash card, for storing information, including instructions, that persists even when the 800 computer system is turned off or otherwise loses power.

Information, including instructions for providing a secure shared personal map layer by providing a secure shared personal map layer, is provided to the bus 810 for use by the processor from an external input device 812, such as a keyboard containing operated alphanumeric keys. by a human user, or a sensor. A sensor detects conditions in its vicinity and transforms those detections into physical expression compatible with the measurable phenomenon used to represent information in computer system 800. Other external devices attached to bus 810, used essentially to interact with humans, include a display device 814. , such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD), or plasma screen or printer for displaying text or images, and an 816 pointing device, such as a mouse or control ball or keys direction cursor, or motion sensor, for controlling a position of a small cursor image displayed on display 814 and issuing commands associated with graphic elements displayed on display 814. In some embodiments, for example, in embodiments in that the computer system 800 performs all functions automatically without human input, one or more of d is omitted external input device 812, display device 814 and pointing device 816.

In the illustrated embodiment, special purpose hardware, such as a specific application integrated circuit (ASIC) 820, is coupled to bus 810. The special purpose hardware is configured to perform operations not performed by the 802 processor fast enough for specials. Examples of specific application ICs include graphics accelerator cards for generating images for the 814 display, cryptographic plates for encrypting and decrypting messages sent over a network, voice recognition, and interfaces to special external devices, such as robotic arms and computer equipment. A medical scan that repeatedly performs some complex sequence of operations that are implemented more efficiently in hardware.

The computer system 800 also includes one or more instances of an 870 communication interface coupled to the 810 bus. The 870 communication interface provides one-way or two-way communication coupling to various external devices that operate with their own processors, such as printers, scanners and external disks. In general the coupling is with a network link 878 that connects to a local network 880 to which various external devices with their own processors are connected. For example, the 870 communication interface can be a parallel port or a serial port or a universal serial bus (USB) port on a personal computer. In some embodiments, the communication interface 870 is an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) card or a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) card or a telephone modem that provides an information communication connection to a corresponding type of line telephone. In some embodiments, a communication interface 870 is a cable modem that converts signals on the 810 bus to signals for a communication connection over a coaxial cable or to optical signals for a communication connection over a fiber cable optics. As another example, the communication interface 870 can be a local area network (LAN) card to provide a data communication connection to a compatible LAN, such as Ethernet. Wireless links can also be implemented. For wireless links, the communication interface 870 sends or receives or both sends and receives electrical, acoustic, or electromagnetic signals, including infrared and optical signals, that carry information flows, such as digital data. For example, in wireless portable devices, such as mobile phones such as cell phones, the communication interface 870 includes a radio band electromagnetic transmitter and receiver called a radio transceiver. In certain embodiments, the interface of Communications 870 enables connection to communication network 105 to provide a secure shared personal map layer to UE 101.

The term "computer readable medium" as used herein refers to any medium that participates in the provision of information to the 802 processor, including instructions for execution. Such a medium can take many forms, including, but not limited to, computer readable storage medium (eg, non-volatile media, volatile media), and transmission media. Non-transient media, such as non-volatile media, include, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as storage device 808. Volatile media includes, for example, dynamic memory 804. Transmission media includes, for example, coaxial cables. , copper wire, fiber optic cables, and carrier waves that travel through space without wires or cables, such as acoustic waves and electromagnetic waves, including radio, optical, and infrared waves. Signals include artificial transient variations in amplitude, frequency, phase, polarization, and other physical properties transmitted through the transmission media. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, floppy disk, hard drive, magnetic tape, any other magnetic media, CD-ROM, CDRW, DVD, any other optical media, punched cards, tape paper, optical marking foils, any other physical media with hole patterns or other optically recognizable signs, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave, or any other means that a computer can read. The term "computer readable storage medium" is used herein to refer to any computer readable medium except transmission media.

Logic encoded on one or more tangible media includes one or both of processor instructions on a computer-readable storage medium and special-purpose hardware, such as the ASIC 820.

Network link 878 typically provides information communication using transmission media over one or more networks to other devices that use or process the information. For example, network link 878 may provide a connection through local network 880 to a host computer 882 or to equipment 884 operated by an Internet Service Provider (ISP). The ISP 884 equipment in turn provides data communication services over the global and public packet-switched communication network of networks now commonly referred to as the Internet 890.

A computer called an 892 server host connected to the Internet hosts a process that provides a service in response to information received over the Internet. For example, server host 892 hosts a process that provides information representing video data for presentation on display 814. It is contemplated that components of system 800 can be deployed in various configurations within other computer systems, eg host 882 and server 892.

At least some embodiments of the invention relate to the use of computer system 800 to implement some or all of the techniques described in this document. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, those techniques are performed by computer system 800 in response to a processor 802 that executes one or more sequences of one or more processor instructions contained in memory 804. Such instructions, also called computer instructions, software and program code can be read into memory 804 from another computer-readable medium such as storage device 808 or network link 878. Execution of the instruction sequences contained in memory 804 causes the 802 processor to perform one or more of the method steps described in this document. In alternative embodiments, hardware, such as ASIC 820, can be used instead of or in combination with software to implement the invention. Therefore, embodiments of the invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software, unless explicitly stated otherwise in this document.

The signals transmitted over the network link 878 and other networks through the communication interface 870 carry information to and from the computer system 800. The computer system 800 can send and receive information, including program code, over the networks. 880, 890, among others, through the network link 878 and the communication interface 870. In an example using the Internet 890, a server host 892 transmits program code for a particular application, requested by a message sent from the computer 800, over the Internet 890, ISP 884 equipment, 880 local network, and 870 communications interface. The received code may be executed by the 802 processor as it is received, or it may be stored in memory 804 or on storage device 808 or other non-volatile storage for later execution, or both. In this way, the computer system 800 can obtain program code application in the form of signals on a carrier wave.

Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in transporting one or more sequences of instructions or data or both to the 802 processor for execution. For example, instructions and data may initially be carried on a magnetic disk of a remote computer such as host 882. The remote computer loads the instructions and data into its dynamic memory and sends the instructions and data over a telephone line using a modem. . A local modem to computer system 800 receives the instructions and data on a telephone line and uses an infrared relay to convert the instructions and data to an infrared carrier wave signal that serves as the 878 network link. Infrared that serves as the communication interface 870 receives the instructions and data carried in the infrared signal and places information that represents the instructions and data on bus 810. Bus 810 transports the information to memory 804 from which processor 802 retrieves and executes instructions using some of the data sent with the instructions. Instructions and data received in memory 804 may optionally be stored in storage device 808, either before or after execution by processor 802.

Figure 9 illustrates a chipset or chip 900 on which an embodiment of the invention can be implemented. Chipset 900 is programmed to provide a secure shared personal map layer as described herein and includes, for example, the processor and memory components described with respect to Figure 8 embedded in one or more physical packets (eg example, chips). By way of example, a physical package includes an arrangement of one or more materials, components, and / or wires in a structural assembly (eg, a base plate) to provide one or more characteristics such as physical strength, size conservation, or limitation of electrical iteration. It is contemplated that in certain embodiments the chipset 900 may be implemented on a single chip. It is further contemplated that in certain embodiments the chipset or chip 900 may be implemented as a single "system on a chip". It is further contemplated that in certain embodiments a separate ASIC would not be used, for example, and that all relevant functions as disclosed herein would be performed by a processor or processors. The chipset 900, or a portion thereof, constitutes a means for performing one or more steps of providing user interface navigation information associated with the availability of functions. The chipset 900, or a portion thereof, constitutes a means for performing one or more steps of providing a secure shared personal map layer.

In one embodiment, the chipset or chip 900 includes a communication mechanism such as to bus 901 to pass information between the components of chipset 900. A processor 903 has connectivity to bus 901 to execute instructions and process information stored in, for example, memory 905. Processor 903 may include one or more processing cores with each core configured to operate independently. A multi-core processor enables multiprocessing within a single physical package. Examples of a multi-core processor include two, four, eight, or larger numbers of processing cores. As an alternative or in addition, processor 903 may include one or more microprocessors configured in tandem through bus 901 to enable independent execution of instructions, channeling, and multi-processing. Processor 903 may also be paired with one or more specialized components to perform certain processing functions and tasks such as one or more 907 Digital Signal Processors (DSP), or one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) 909. A DSP 907 is typically configured to process real-world signals (eg, sound) in real time independently of the 903 processor. Similarly, an ASIC 909 can be configured to perform specialized functions not easily performed by a more general-purpose processor. Other specialized components to aid in performing the inventive functions described in this document may include one or more Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) fields (not shown), one or more controllers (not shown), or one or more other chips of special purpose computer.

In one embodiment, the chipset 900 includes merely one or more processors and some software and / or firmware that supports and / or relates to and / or for the one or more processors.

The 903 processor and attached components have connectivity to memory 905 through bus 901. Memory 905 includes both dynamic memory (eg, RAM, magnetic disk, writable optical disk, etc.) and static memory (eg, ROM, CD-ROM, etc.) for storing executable instructions that when executed perform the inventive steps outlined in this document to provide a secure shared personal map layer. Memory 905 also stores data associated with or generated by the execution of the inventive steps.

Figure 10 is a diagram of illustrative components of a mobile terminal (eg, handset) for communications, which is capable of operating in the system of Figure 1, in accordance with one embodiment. In some embodiments, mobile terminal 1001, or a portion thereof, constitutes a means for performing one or more steps of providing a secure shared personal map layer. In general, a radio receiver is often defined in terms of front and rear end characteristics. The front end of the receiver includes all Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry while the rear end includes all of the baseband processing circuitry. As used in this application, the term "circuitry" refers to both: (1) hardware-only implementations (such as implementations on analog and / or digital circuitry only), and (2) to combinations of circuitry and software (and / or firmware) (such as, if applicable to the particular context, to a combination of processor or processors, including digital signal processor or processors, software and memories) that work together to cause a device, such as a mobile phone or server, perform various functions). This definition of "circuitry" applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claim. As a further example, as used in this application and if applicable to the particular context, the term "circuitry" would also cover an implementation of merely one processor (or multiple processors) and its (or its) accompanying software or firmware. The term "circuitry" would also cover if it is applicable to the particular context, for example, a baseband integrated circuit or application processor integrated circuit in a mobile phone or a similar integrated circuit in a cellular network device or other network devices .

Relevant internal components of the phone include a Main Control Unit (MCU) 1003, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) 1005, and a receiver / transmitter unit that includes a gain control unit microphone and a speaker gain control unit. A main display unit 1007 provides a display to the user in support of various mobile terminal applications and functions that perform or support the steps of providing a secure shared personal map layer. Display 1007 includes display circuitry configured to display at least a portion of a user interface of the mobile terminal (eg, mobile phone). Additionally, the display 1007 and display circuitry are configured to facilitate user control of at least some functions of the mobile terminal. An audio function circuitry 1009 includes a microphone 1011 and microphone amplifier that amplifies the voice signal output from the microphone 1011. The amplified voice signal output from the microphone 1011 is powered by a 1013 encoder / decoder (CODEC).

A radio section 1015 amplifies power and converts frequency to communicate with a base station, which is included in a mobile communication system, through antenna 1017. Power amplifier (PA) 1019 and transmitter / modulation circuitry are operationally responsive to MCU 1003, with an output from PA 1019 coupled to duplexer 1021 or circulator or antenna switch, as known in the art. The PA 1019 also mates with a battery interface and 1020 power control unit.

In use, a mobile terminal user 1001 speaks into microphone 1011 and his voice along with any detected background noise is converted to an analog voltage. The analog voltage is then converted into a digital signal through the 1023 Analog to Digital Converter (ADC). The control unit 1003 routes the digital signal into the DSP 1005 for processing therein, such as voice encoding, encoding channel, encrypted and interleaved. In one embodiment, the processed voice signals are encoded, by units not shown separately, using a cellular transmission protocol such as global evolution (EDGE), general radio packet service (GPRS), global system for mobile communications (GSM) , internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS), universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), etc., as well as any other suitable wireless means, for example, microwave access (WiMAX), Long Term Evolution Networks (LTE) , code division multiple access (CDMA), broadband code division multiple access (WCDMA), wireless fidelity (WiFi), satellite and the like.

The encoded signals are then routed to an equalizer 1025 to compensate for any frequency dependent deficiencies that occur during over-the-air transmission such as amplitude and phase distortion. After equalizing the bitstream, modulator 1027 combines the signal with an RF signal generated at RF interface 1029. Modulator 1027 generates a sine wave by means of frequency or pass modulation. To prepare the signal for transmission, an upconverter 1031 combines the sine wave output of modulator 1027 with another sine wave generated by a synthesizer 1033 to achieve the desired transmission frequency. The signal is then sent through a PA 1019 to boost the signal to an appropriate power level. In practical systems, the PA 1019 acts as a variable gain amplifier whose gain is controlled by the DSP 1005 from information received from a network base station. The signal is then filtered within duplexer 1021 and optionally sent to an antenna coupler 1035 to match impedances to provide maximum power transfer. Finally, the signal is transmitted through antenna 1017 to a local base station. An Automatic Gain Control (AGC) can be supplied to control the gain of the receiver's final stages. The signals can be forwarded from there to a remote telephone that can be another cellular telephone, another mobile telephone or a terrestrial line connected Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), or other telephone networks.

Voice signals transmitted to mobile terminal 1001 are received through antenna 1017 and immediately amplified by a low noise amplifier (LNA) 1037. A downconverter 1039 lowers the carrier frequency while demodulator 1041 removes the RF leaving only a stream digital bit. The signal below goes through Equalizer 1025 and is processed by DSP 1005. A Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) 1043 converts the signal and the resulting output is transmitted to the user through Speaker 1045, all under the control of a Main Control Unit (MCU) 1003-which can be implemented as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) (not shown).

MCU 1003 receives various signals including input signals from keyboard 1047. Keyboard 1047 and / or MCU 1003 in combination with other user input components (for example, microphone 1011) comprise user interface circuitry for manage user input. MCU 1003 runs user interface software to facilitate user control of at least some functions of mobile terminal 1001 to provide a secure shared personal map layer. MCU 1003 also distributes a display command and a switch command to display 1007 and the voice output switch controller, respectively. Additionally, MCU 1003 exchanges information with DSP 1005 and can access an optionally built-in SIM 1049 and memory 1051. Additionally, MCU 1003 performs various required terminal control functions. DSP 1005 can, depending on the implementation, perform any of several conventional digital processing functions on voice signals. Additionally, DSP 1005 determines the local ambient background noise level from the signals detected by microphone 1011 and sets microphone gain 1011 at a selected level to compensate for the natural tendency of the user of mobile terminal 1001.

CODEC 1013 includes ADC 1023 and DAC 1043. Memory 1051 stores various data including all incoming tone data and is capable of storing other data including music data received through, for example, the global Internet. The software module could reside in RAM, flash memory, registers, or any other form of writable storage medium known in the art. Memory device 1051 may be, but is not limited to, single memory, CD, DVD, ROM, RAM, EEPROM, optical storage, or any other non-volatile storage medium capable of storing digital data.

An optionally incorporated 1049 SIM card carries, for example, important information, such as the cell phone number, the operator providing the service, subscription details and security information. SIM card 1049 essentially serves to identify mobile terminal 1001 in a radio network. The 1049 card also contains a memory for storing a record of user-specific personal phone numbers, text messages, and mobile terminal settings.

While the invention has been described in connection with a number of embodiments and implementations, the invention is not limited in this way, but rather covers various obvious modifications and equivalent arrangements, which are within the scope of the appended claims. Although features of the invention are expressed in certain combinations between the claims, it is contemplated that these features can be arranged in any combination and order.

Claims (15)

1. An apparatus comprising: means for determining a geographical location associated with at least the operation of a device; means for determining an indication describing a relationship between at least the geographic location and at least a first user of the device, wherein the relationship is derived from the first user's tracked visit history to the geographical location indicating one or more of : frequency of stays; residence time; permanent position; path followed; o length of stay; means for determining at least one level of privacy for the indication; Y means for associating at least the first user of the device with the indication and the geographical location and the at least one level of privacy. 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: determining the indication further comprises determining presenting a notice requesting the indication of the first user; Y Associating the first user of the device with the indication and geographic location and privacy level is based at least in part on a response received in response to submitting the notice. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein determining the geographical location associated with the operation of the device further comprises determining at least one time and duration of pause in a vicinity of the geographical location based on a positioning system located together with the device. An apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 3, wherein determining to present the notice further comprises: determining a personal description vocabulary term based, at least in part, on the geographic location and context for the device; Y determine to present the vocabulary term of personal description. An apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein determining to present the notice further comprises: determining a personal description vocabulary word based, at least in part, on a point of interest type associated with geographic location in a map database; and determine to present the vocabulary term of personal description. An apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 5, wherein associating the first user with the indication and the geographical location and the at least one level of privacy based on the response further comprises associating the first user and the indication and geographical location and at least one level of privacy at the end of personal description vocabulary. 7. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein determining the at least one level of privacy further comprises determining at least one suggested level of privacy based on geographic location and context for the device. An apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein determining the at least one level of privacy further comprises determining displaying the at least one level of privacy suggested in the notice. 9. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the at least one level of privacy is associated with at least one circle of contacts in at least one social media service. 10. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising: means for receiving at least one request for an association between the indication and the geographical location for the first user; means for determining whether at least a second user associated with the request has permission for the at least one level of privacy associated with the indication; means for determining not to send the association between the indication and the geographical location, if the at least second user does not have permission for the at least one level of privacy; Y means for determining to send the association between the indication and the geographical location, if the at least second user does have permission for the at least one level of privacy. 11. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the request indicates the indication and / or the request indicates a personal description vocabulary term associated with the indication. 12. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the apparatus is user equipment incorporating the device or is a server. 13. An apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising means for determining storing the association of the first user with the indication and the geographical location and the at least one level of privacy in at least one common data structure for access by a plurality of user devices. 14. A method comprising: determine a geographical location associated with at least the operation of a device; determine an indication describing a relationship between at least the geographic location and at least a first user of the device, where the relationship is derived from the first user's tracked history of visits to the geographic location indicating one or more of: frequency of stays; residence time; permanent position; path followed; o length of stay; determine at least one level of privacy for the indication; Y associate at least the first user of the device with the indication and the geographical location and at least one level of privacy. 15. A computer readable storage medium that carries one or more sequences of one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, causes an apparatus to at least perform a method according to claim 14.